Mass media is designed to reach a large audience through the use of technology. Its purpose is to provide the information we need to function as a society. Mass media is everywhere; there is no escaping it. From the moment you wake up until you fall asleep, you are confronted with the media. Almost every American household has at least one television, Internet, and cell phone. You can't drive on the highway without seeing billboards. Grocery shopping can be difficult if you're trying to avoid magazines. The media is supposed to describe what is considered normal; therefore, it affects what society considers normal. Media portrayal of body image negatively affects adolescents by using stereotypes, encouraging sexual behavior, and promoting unnecessary products. Adolescents are very impressionable during the difficult and already confusing part of their development. So what the media tells them as “normal” affects them more than adults. The media uses stereotypes to describe what a “normal” body should look like. Women are often shown in an unrealistic manner and men with larger than life muscles. The idea that these unrealistic bodies are normal and healthy can be very damaging to a teenager's self-image. In 2003, Teen Magazine reported that 35 percent of girls ages 6 to 12 have been on at least one diet, and 50 to 70 percent of normal-weight girls think they are overweight. Boys also feel pressured to do bodybuilding and use steroids to achieve the perfect body. Weight is not the only topic covered by the media. If your weight is good, they tell you that you are getting older and need beauty products to achieve the ideal look. Teen dramas use the stereotype that popular kids are good-looking, middle-of-the-road, but parents care about them and what they do. Second, parents need to establish a good line of communication between themselves and their teenagers. Teenagers need to know that they can talk to their parents about anything. We also need to talk to our teens about realistic bodyinuge and sex. If we don't do it, the media certainly will. Finally, parents must supervise their teenager; media use and exposure. If parents are aware of what their adolescents are exposed to, they can better communicate what is appropriate; therefore, directly counteracting the media's negative portrayal of body image. Works Cited Bourland, Korrie. “Images of the female body in the media.” http://www6.svsu.edu/~glt/Magazine/Bourland.html December 8, 2004. Web. February 23, 2010 Ransohoff, Julia. “Tweens and the Media.” http://www.pamf.sutterhealth.org/preteen/growingup/choices/media.html 2009. Web. February 23. 2010